New Nationwide Stock Car set to make debut in 2010

NASCAR won't decide on the specifics of a rollout of the new car until the rules are set and the sanctioning body meets with owners

"We've got a couple of last things that we've got to finish up on," Balash said. "As soon as we do that, we'll be able to get ready with the teams. It's just a few minor items. We want to make sure that we have everything set and ready to go before we hand that book to the teams and say, 'Here's what we've got.'"

With the economy worsening late last year, NASCAR opted to delay the introduction of the new car, originally planned for August 2010, until 2011. Sources have told Sporting News that the most likely scenario involves a partial rollout next year at superspeedways (Daytona and Talladega) and road courses (Watkins Glen and Montreal).

Introduction of the Nationwide car (which differs from its Sprint Cup counterpart in such features as a spoiler instead of a wing and traditional spring front suspension instead of bumps stops) hasn't been set in stone.

"We're going to talk to [owners] about a couple of different options, and we just want to make sure we get that feedback from them before we announce the implementation," Balash said.

Ford and Dodge have opted to run versions of their muscle cars -- Mustang and Challenger, respectively -- as their Nationwide entries with the new car. Chevrolet reportedly has resisted NASCAR's urging to run its Camaro and instead will field the Impala SS, the same brand it runs in the Cup Series. Similarly, Toyota will run a Nationwide version of its Cup car, the Camry.

"You'd have to ask Chevrolet what the reasons are behind their models that they choose," Balash said. "We talk to all the manufacturers about the types of vehicles that they're running in the series, and Chevrolet ultimately has the decision about what they're going to run as part of their brand marketing."

Representatives from Chevrolet were not available to respond to questions about the choice of models to be used in the Nationwide Series.

SCAR’s concerns about commitments from the automakers received a boost today when Ford announced it will introduce its popular Mustang on a limited basis in the Nationwide Series in 2010.

The eventual plan is to integrate the new car for the entire 2011 schedule, said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. “We had been talking with NASCAR for some time about Mustang as part of its vision for a muscle car rollout for the Nationwide Series,” said Brian Wolfe, director of Ford North America Motorsports.

“We both saw it as a way of differentiating the series from Sprint Cup. We loved the idea, so we jumped on the chance to extend Mustang's racing legacy to a new series reaching a huge and loyal audience.”

After meeting with team owners on Tuesday, Pemberton said the consensus was to take the Mustangs to three intermediate tracks or ovals and possibly two speedways, Talladega and Daytona in 2010. NASCAR hopes to have a rollout schedule finalized before the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races Aug. 8-9 at Watkins Glen.

Not all manufacturers have announced the models for the new Nationwide cars, but the lineup is expected to include Chevrolet Impala SS, Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger and Toyota Camry.

The 2010 Ford Mustang will join the 2010 Fusion (Sprint Cup) and the 2009 Ford F-Series (Camping World Truck Series) as Ford’s competitive entries in NASCAR’s three major professional series.

Ford Racing has gone through the official NASCAR submission and approval process for the new car, and, once templates are finalized, production of Mustang parts will start so teams can build the first cars for testing later this fall.

When it is introduced, the new Nationwide Series car will look and drive differently from the Cup Series' COT. The Nationwide car will feature a more traditional spoiler instead of a rear wing and a spring front suspension instead of bump stops.

“We’re excited about the new car in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and particularly the new body styles such as the Ford Mustang,” said NASCAR president Mike Helton. It’s going to be one good-looking race car.” Mustang currently competes professionally in the NHRA Funny Car and Pro Stock divisions and places like the Grand-Am KONI Challenge, SCCA World Challenge, and the Mustang Challenge Series. Since its debut in 1964, Mustang has compiled more than 2,000 professional racing victories in NHRA, Grand-Am, IMSA, SCCA, NMRA and NMCA, as well as other racing series.

“Mustang has dominated other forms of racing, including NHRA drag racing, Grand-Am Cup road racing, and Formula D drifting, and now it’s coming to NASCAR Nationwide,” Wolfe said. “It’s the most successful product nameplate in racing history, and it seems only right that it should be coming to the most popular form of racing in North America.”